Comfort and Guidance
by bloodredsky8
Summary: Anticlimactic short about the Brothers of Light, plus OCs. Tomax gets sucked into Xamot's meltdown, then the rest of the story is mildly romantic. I was going to lead up to some graphic intimacy, but thought the story sounded alright on its own and could meet the guidelines here.


It was a beautiful sunny day, almost as perfect of a day as they could imagine. Twin brothers Tomax and Xamot were about to take a walk through the gardens on Aurora and Mishael's estate, where they had been staying for four days now. It had been almost a week since they escaped brutality and slavery at the hands of Dr. Mindbender. Sick and weary, they had been given refuge, but had also taken a lot of condemnation from their psychic mentors over their actions at the sanctuary where they had used their hypnotic influence to coerce people 'disciples' into worshiping them as gods and giving them everything they had.

The brothers felt much better now, albeit a little weak from the physical torment and abrupt end of forced drugging they had received in the doctor's custody. They had suffered a severe withdrawal; Aurora had given them something to alleviate the symptoms a bit, but it was a necessary evil, as they never knew what they were on so couldn't slowly wean themselves off whatever chemicals causing them agony. After the initial lectures and outbursts over their iniquities, their mentors were kindlier and more understanding toward them. They were, after all, kind of like a family to them and didn't enjoy seeing them suffer, even if they thought it was well deserved.

The twins went to take their leave from their hosts, to be polite. They were in the kitchen. Tomax could hear a faint beeping sound coming from an open window, perhaps from someone backing heavy machinery. Aurora turned toward them, then sneezed forcefully into her hand. In the background was heard the soft whir of Mishael's Magic Bullet as he mixed a smoothie. Tomax was surprised to see Xamot abruptly drop to the floor, falling onto his back and going stiff. They were never far apart, but an unseen force pulled Tomax closer to his sibling, and he felt himself fall into a similar position, stiff as a board, arms and legs straight. He felt an intense pain in his chest and had trouble breathing. _We must be having a heart attack.._ he thought, _...I love you Xamot.._

Tomax wanted that to be the last thought on his mind as they died, for surely they were dying. He tried to touch Xamot's mind with it, but then he looked on, paralyzed with horror as they appeared back in Dr. Mindbender's laboratory. "You didn't think you had actually escaped, did you?" the malicious doctor asked them, "There's only one way you are ever getting out, -and I'll make you beg for it before it happens- but it won't be for a very long time. That reminds me, can you two see into the future?"

The brothers looked at him in stupefied horror, unable to speak or even shake their heads. Mindbender wagged a finger and looked at them through heavily lidded eyes, "You know what happens when you refuse to answer me." The twins became internally terrified but still could only look on. Xamot managed a pathetic mewling. _..No, please, we want to answer but we just can't! We can't.._ they thought feverishly.

The doctor flipped a switch under one of the tables. The twins heard the high pitched whine of the table saw. It didn't look like much, just a thin rod sticking up out of the stainless steel surface, but they knew it could cut through metal like butter. "If I cut both of your left arms off, would you lose feeling in your right? he asked, staring at them with malevolent amusement. Still, the brothers took this in with silent horror. Mindbender had only threatened them with the saw twice; the second time it had caused them to become so unhinged that they had only stopped screaming after being given a strong sedative. He couldn't stress enough how he valued their silence. Tomax and Xamot knew that if he was really going to dismember them, then he'd probably surprise them with it, like perhaps they'd be put under, only to wake up without an arm. This made even the comfort of chemical oblivion its own special horror.

Suddenly, Aurora and Mishael walked into the room. The brothers had a moment of confusion and disorientation, as if they realized they might be dreaming, but it was too real. "You two realize that you could have gotten out of this at anytime, don't you?" Aurora said, "Isn't that right, doctor Bender?"

"Oh absolutely," the doctor said in a voice that was a combination of Mishael's and his own, "Why do you think I had to ramp up the threats and torture? The fear they'd rally and dissolve my will at any second was a constant worry. I'm amazed I was able to get so far with them. I never could have imagined that these two losers could be so ignorant of their own potential. The only reason they were able to escape is because I let my own fear get the best of me. If I would have stopped fiddling with the computer when the system crashed, and thought to run up and slap one of them when they came to awareness, then I'd still have them cowering in my possession."

"Monty is the source," Aurora said, "Come back to us now darling..." The twins calmed a bit as they felt her hand gently stroking Xamot's brow. Her mind touched theirs, channeling feelings of comfort and security. They closed their eyes for a moment. When they opened them again, they were back in their kitchen.

Mishael had just pulled a needle out of Tomax's arm. "I've given you both a mild sedative to relax you," he told them, "You may rest for the duration of this day, but we are going to need to talk."

"We still want to go out," Tomax said, staring at the sunlight pouring in the open window. Xamot nodded in agreement.

The four of them went outside. Aurora and Mishael led them to the gazebo in the garden where the twins squeezed together on a comfortable, heavily-padded wicker sofa. Aurora and Mishael sat across from them in matching wicker chairs. "What happened to us?" Tomax asked drowsily as Xamot tilted his head into his shoulder.

"Something triggered a flashback in Monty," Mishael answered, "You were sucked into his traumatic memories via your connection."

_That explains the paralysis.._ Tomax thought. Sometimes he had to be the one to respond during the doctor's sessions of torment.

Aurora added, "You really could have gotten free of the doctor at any time. From now on, every day we spend with you, we are going to allocate some time so you can tell us everything that Dr. Bender did to you. We will go to a nice safe place where you can weep and hold hands, and we are going to keep reminding you that every second you were conscious could have been another time you could have used your abilities to free yourselves. This might sound harsh, but it's absolutely true. Everything that happened to you was one hundred percent your own faults and could have been avoided."

"Yes," Mishael said, "Think of every situation we already know. Lets see..the moment you woke up in his lab? You could have mind controlled him a second before he threatened to stop your hearts. When he threatened with the table saw? You could have compelled him to set you free instead. Even when he was choking you, you had time to focus your powers five seconds before you blacked out. Self defense is an acceptable reason to use your powers, not to trick people into worshiping you and giving you things or to look into the thoughts of others for your own amusement."

Aurora and Mishael could tell the twins were getting visibly upset at this point. Even though they disliked the brothers and could never completely forgive them for their past transgressions, they had no desire to hurt them. They knew nothing constructive could come from ridiculing them further, so they left them to relax alone. Tomax and Xamot shifted a little to find a more comfortable position. They each found comfort in the press of the others body, making up for lost time during a captivity not allowing them to touch or look at each other. "Where did it all go wrong...?" Xamot whispered with his eyes closed, half dozing.

The better question, Tomax thought, was what would become of them? It was as if the story of their lives kept being rewritten with more and more of their power stripped away. They had enjoyed paradise for so long, then it suddenly went to hell in a day. He had recently berated Xamot for his weaknesses, yet the thing that had just happened to them was beyond his comprehension. He couldn't have imagined how he could have prevented it, even if he had seen it coming. The nature of their bond was such that intense feelings always won out. Tomax could no more prevent a future flashback than he could watch Xamot get slapped in the face and numb his pain by virtue of not being struck. "The world is not ready for our divine light," he replied absently, turning his head slightly to kiss his beloved sibling on the side of his mouth.

The brothers abandoned their cares after that and slipped in and out of a light slumber, often sighing in contentment when one would come to awareness and find the other so close. Caressing one another for solace, they spent the day thus and awakened fully to the semi darkness of early evening and the chill and crisp smells of the approaching night air. At some point, they noticed, someone had brought them a pitcher of water and bowl of fruit. Xamot grabbed an apple, while Tomax poured them both a cup of water. They enjoyed their repast in silence for a moment, both serene for the most part, but with a tickle of anxiety in the deepest parts of their minds. _We shouldn't be alone tonight...no we shouldn't_ they thought. Arm in arm, they walked back to the house.


End file.
